Foam generator for rug cleaning machine



Feb. 25, 1969 R/L. BOYD FOAM GENERATOR FOR RUG CLEANING MACHINE Filed Feb. 28, 1967 FlG. 2.

INVENTOR Reed Luke Boyd I ATTORNEY FIG.|.

United States Patent 3,428,985 FOAM GENERA'llgg FOR RUG CLEANING CHINE Reed Lake Boyd, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The Certified Chemical & Equipment Company, Cleveland, Ohio Filed Feb. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 619,258 U.S. CI. -50 Claims Int. Cl. A47l11/282, 11/34, 11/40 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a generator for producing a foamed detergent and more specifically to a foam generator for use with a pile brush having a horizontal brushing action for forming a foam and brushing the foam into a rug pile.

The use of pile brushes having a horizontal brushing action and the association of foam generators with pile brushes have individually been known in the prior art. However, the prior art foam generators which were associated with and a part of pile brushes and the like have not found true commercial success in the past due to inherent deficiencies therein. A problem which existed in the prior art foam generators for detergents was caused by the low air pressure utilized in the manufacture of foam wherein the foams were produced in a detergent liquid carrying tank displaced from the foam outlet at the foaming head and thereby also made it relatively difficult to replenish the detergent supply until the detergent holding tank was empty. Furthermore, when bubbling did take place in the tank, leaks and the like would produce a large volume of suds or foam at the point of leak due to the formation of the foam within the tank rather than in a foam generator head. These problems require that all of the foam in the detergent container be exhausted, as stated above, before the addition of new detergent due to the foaming action taking place in the tank itself.

In accordance with the present invention, the problems of the prior art are overcome by the provision of .a patentably novel detergent foam generator which is positioned adjacent a pile brush or the like and which is remote from the detergent supply. In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a foam generator wherein the detergent solution enters into an atomizing chamber and along the periphery thereof, the air inlet causing air under pressure to enter along the axis of the chamber so that the detergent solution enters around the air inlet therein. The machine is operated by means of a solenoid valve which is actuated by a switch on the handle of the machine. Closing of this switch enables the solenoid valve and allows liquids from a detergent supply tank to pass through the valve and to the atomizing chamber of the foam generator. There is also a compressor in the housing of the machine which is also set into operation by the closing of the switch on the handle and causes air to be blown into the atomizing chamber of the foam gen- 3,428,985 Patented Feb. 25, 1969 erator through the air inlet. The mixture of the air and the detergent solution under pressure within the atomizing chamber is caused to pass through a screen and sponge into a foam generating chamber where the foam is formed and passes through the foam outlet at the head of the foam generating chamber and onto a carpet or onto the bristles of the pile brush, as the case may be.

It is therefore the object of this invention to provide a patentably novel and relatively inexpensive foam generator for carpet cleaning machinery.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a foam generator wherein the detergent solution enters in a path surrounding the path of entry of air therein.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a foam generator wherein the foam generation takes place at a point remote and isolatable from the detergent storage tank.

It is a yet further object of this invention to provide a foam generator for rug cleaning equipment wherein foam can be generated only in the foam generation chamber.

The above objects and still further objects of this in vention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after consideration of the following specification of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is provided by way of example and not by way of limitation and the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is, a view of a pile brush with foam generator, partly in elevation;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of the foam generator of the present invention; and

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIGURE 2.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown a pile brush system 4 of well known construction having a horizontal brush 6, a typical example of which is set forth in U.S. Patent No. 2,663,045. This patent is provided by way of example and it should be understood that any type of brush device having a horizontal brushing action can be utilized.

The machine includes a handle 1 having positioned thereon a tank 2 for storage of a detergent liquid. The liquid can be, for example, a sodium lauryl sulfonate base detergent of proper consistency and with proper solvents added thereto as required and registered with the National Institutes of Health. Such detergents are also well known in the art.

The machine further includes a switch 3 which, when in the closed position, operates a solenoid valve 8 which is in the line 16 from the tank 2 to the atomizing chamber 29 of the foam generator device 10 and allows the detergent liquid in the tank 2 to flow into the atomizing chamber. The closing of the switch 3 also turns on a compressor 12 within the housing 14 and causes air under high pressure to be blown along the line 18 into the air inlet 21 of the foam generator. The volume of air passing into the atomizing chamber 29 can be adjusted by providing a needle valve 20 in the airline. Also, the amount of solution passing from the tank 2 to the atomizing chamber 29 can be adjusted by the use of a needle valve 22 in the line 16 passing from the tank 2 to the atomizing chamber. The detergent utilized in the tank is an anionic detergent such as a sodium lauryl sulfonate as stated hereinabove.

The machine further includes a pile brush 6 and driving means therefor (not shown) which is operated by the switch 3 or, alternatively, could be operated by a separate switch. The driving mechanism could be the one shown in the above mentioned patent, for example, and is well known in the art.

Also included within the housing 14 of the machine is the foam generator 10 which includes an inlet for air 21 which is connected to the air hose. The air inlet 21 is formed along the axis of the atomizing nozzle 23 which is threadedly engaged in an atomizing case 25. The atomizing case further includes a solution inlet 27 which communicates with the pipe 16 connecting the foam generator and the tank 2.

The air inlet 21 communicates with an atomizing chamber 29 through the outlet 31 thereof whereas the solution inlet 27 communicates with the atomizing chamber 29 through the outlet 33 thereof. The atomizing chamber 29 is formed by a polyvinyl chloride pipe 35 which is fixedly secured at the downstream end of the atomizing case (the downstream position of this pipe) to a wall of the chamber which is composed of a sponge material 37 positioned transverse to the axis of flow of material into the atomizing chamber 29 and a stainless steel screen 39 abutting the sponge member 37 and positioned downstream therefrom.

The foam generating chamber 41 is formed by the wall composed of the sponge 37 and the stainless steel screen 39 which is at the upstream end of a polyvinyl chloride pipe 43, the polyvinyl chloride pipe extending over and abutting in a retaining manner a polyvinyl chloride pipe 45 which extends with its transverse to the axis of the foam generator device but communicating with the foam generating chamber 41. The pipe 45 includes a foam outlet 47 at its downstream end along the axis of the foam generator device, the outlet being a slit or a plurality of slits extending along the entire width of the machine. The pipes 35 and 43, the sponge 37 and the screen 39 are maintained in position by a Tygon tube member 49 positioned therearound and securely afiixed thereto.

The machine is operated by the closing of the switch 3 on the handle 1, this switch causing the compressor 12 to operate and transfer air under pressure into the air inlet 21 along the pipe 18. At the same time the solenoid 8 in the solution duct is operated and allows detergent to flow from the tank 2 along the pipe 16 into the solution inlet 27. The solution enters into an atomizing chamber 29 through the outlet 33 and is swirled around therein by the air passing through the outlet 31 into the atomizing chamber. The solution and the air then pass through the sponge 37 and the stainless steel screen 39 where the swirling mixture of the detergent solution and air are caused to foam and continue to foam in the foam generating chamber 41. This foam then passes from the foam generating chamber 41 into the pipe 45 and then through the outlet slits 47 onto the top of or in front of the brush 6.

As stated above, the brush 6 will be operating either in a forward or reverse direction by the operation of the switch 3 or of an auxiliary switch (not shown). The rotation of this brush causes the foam produced in the foam generator 10 and deposited at the top of or in front of the brush 6 to be brushed into the pile of a rug for cleaning thereof.

Alternatively from that shown in FIGURE 1 and as discussed above, the foam outlet 47 can be positioned above the brush 6 and deposit foam directly thereon. In this embodiment, the foam will first be deposited on the brush and, as the machine is moved forward, the brush 6 will then force the foam produced and deposited thereon into the pile of the rug for the cleaning operation in the same manner as the above described embodiment. In this manner the sheet of foam deposited on the brush is forced into the pile of the rug.

It should be emphasized that the present invention requires a small volume of air under high air pressure to be fed into the foam generator whereas the prior art requires a high volume of air under low air pressure. The same amount of air is used as in the prior art, however. The tank for the detergent is under no pressure and no bubbling takes place in the tank 2. This is a safety feature since no exhaust of the tank 2 is required before adding more detergent to the tank.

The screen material 39 is used as a support for the sponge material 37. A typical screen size for this embodiment would be about sixteen mesh. As an alternative, the sponge 37 can be eliminated completely with the screen now being used in the foaming process rather than as a support. A typical screen size for the alternate embodiment would be about forty mesh.

Though the invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, many variations and modifications will immediately become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is therefore the intention that the appended claims be interpreted as broadly as possible in view of the prior art to include all such variations and modifications.

What is claimed is:

1. In a rug conditioner of the type having a motor drivingly connected to a brush and a frame supporting said motor and a housing therefor, a foam generator comprising a chamber, said chamber having an upstream portion and a downstream end, said upstream portion provided with an air inlet and a foamable material inlet, said foamable material inlet surrounding said air inlet and a foam outlet at the downstream end thereof, means for supplying air under pressure to said air inlet and means to supply foamable material to said foamable material inlet.

2. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 1 wherein said chamber includes an upstream chamber portion communicating with said air inlet and said foamable material inlet at its upstream end, the down stream end thereof comprising a permeable wall.

3. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 2 wherein said permeable wall comprises a sponge material adjacent a metallic screen material.

4. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 3 wherein said chamber further includes a downstream chamber portion, said wall being upstream thereof, said downstream chamber communicating with said foam outlet.

5. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 4 wherein said foam outlet extends substantially along a wall of said downstream chamber portion, said outlet including slits therein for releasing foam formed in said chamber.

6. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means to supply said foamable material is positioned remote from said foam generator.

7. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 2 wherein said means to supply said foamable material is positioned remote from said foam generator.

8. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 5 wherein said means to supply said foamable material is positioned remote from said foam generator.

9. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 1 further including means responsive to switch means and forming a part of said means for supplying air and said means to supply foamable material for causing said air to flow to said air inlet and allowing said foamable material to flow to said foamable material inlet.

10. A rug conditioned as set forth in claim 2 further including means responsive to switch means and forming a part of said means for supplying air and said means to supply foamable material for causing said air to flow to said air inlet and allowing said foamable material to flow to said foamable material inlet.

11. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 5 further including means responsive to switch means and forming a part of said means for supplying air and said means to supply foamable material for causing said air to flow to said air inlet and allowing said foamable material to flow to said foamable material inlet.

12. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 6 further including means responsive to switch means and forming a part of said means for supplying air and said means to supply foamable material for causing said air t flow to said air inlet and allowing said foamable material to flow to said foamable material inlet.

13. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 12 wherein said foam outlet is positioned forward of said brush.

14. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 12 wherein said foam outlet is positioned above said brush.

15. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 13 wherein said brush is a horizontal pile brush.

16. A rug conditioner as set forth in claim 14 wherein said brush is a horizontal pile brush.

17. A foam generator comprising a T-shaped housing, means for atomizing a detergent in the stem of the T, a foam outlet along the base of the T, and means in the stem between the atomizing means and base for producing a foam from the atomized detergent, said atomizing means comprising an air inlet in a zone about the axis of the stem and a detergent inlet surrounding the air inlet and removed from the wall of the stem.

18. A device as defined in claim 17 wherein the housing is a plastic.

19. A device as defined in claim 18 wherein the plastic is polyvinyl chloride.

6 20. A device as defined in claim 17 wherein the means in the stem between the atomizing means and base is a screen.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,479,233 1/1924 Gottlieb 1550 X 2,334,914 11/ 1943 Erickson. 2,715,045 8/1955 Thompson 239-343 2,796,297 6/1957 KlOCk 239343 X 2,960,710 11/1960 McKeegan 401--47 3,204,280 9/1965 Campbell 15---320 3,258,803 7/1966 WOl llfll' et a1 15-50 EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

